Metabolism and Biology Resource Core Summary/Abstract The Metabolism and Biology Resource Core 2 (MB-RC2) of the UTMB OAIC supports and promotes integrative and translational research on the metabolic and biological mechanisms underlying functional loss and recovery in older adults. The MB-RC2 also supports biological sample storage, tracking and handling for clinical trials. The theme of the UTMB OAIC is: Identify pathways of physical function loss and gain and develop targeted interventions to improve functional recovery from illness in older adults. The MB-RC2 significantly contributes to the OAIC theme and goals by providing fundamental and innovative analytical services, biorepository facilities, training and expertise to explore the biological (molecular and cellular) metabolic (protein, fat, glucose and energy) pathways involved in muscle loss and functional recovery in older adults. Understanding the metabolic and biological pathways of functional loss is critical to identify therapeutic targets for treatments. The specific aims of the MB-RC2 are: 1. Provide analytical support and add value to funded translational research on sarcopenia, physical dysfunction and recovery requiring molecular, morphological, or tracer methodologies 2. Leverage other institutional analytical core resources and simplify access for OAIC investigators 3. Develop new translational methods to study the biological and metabolic mechanisms of sarcopenia, physical function and recovery in older adults 4. Train young investigators on the analytical and methodological aspects of translational research on physical function in older adults The MB-RC2 will promote integration of molecular, cellular and tracer methodologies within individual experiments in humans to discover the mechanisms that underlie specific pathophysiological responses in older adults. It will also stimulate reverse translation from clinical findings to the bench, which will allow us to refine our basic knowledge and perform pre-clinical testing of novel interventions for functional loss with aging.